


Parenthood or The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love

by PaintingWithWords (paint_with_words)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: #domesticvictuuriweek, Character's Name Spelled as Viktor, Domestic Fluff, Domestic Victuuri Week 2018, Gen, Kidfic, M/M, Married Couple, Parenthood, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 03:42:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13355766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paint_with_words/pseuds/PaintingWithWords
Summary: Yuuri’s fingers hit the edge of something small and sharp.  Hissing, he dug it out of the carpet and examined it, frowning as he did so.  A translucent plastic brick, about the size of a thumbtack, rested in the palm of his hand.He’d stepped on a lego.  Again.





	Parenthood or The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [prompt ](https://domesticvictuuriweek.tumblr.com/prompts) "free day" for day seven of Domestic Victuuri Week 2018. In this installment, I went with "kidfic".

Yuuri was carrying a folded stack of towels to put up in the linen closet when he felt a sharp pain shoot through the ball of his foot.  He yelped and leaned against the wall for support, fearing he’d managed to find yet another nail with his bare foot.  They’d sold their second apartment and moved into the townhouse a little over a month ago.  Unfortunately, they were still finding stray bits of debris left behind by the builders.  He let the towels fall to the floor and gingerly pulled his foot up to examine it, fearing the worst.

But there was no nail in his foot and no blood, either.  There was a small indention in his skin where he’d clearly stepped on something hidden deep in the plush carpeting.  Determined, he crouched down and carefully ran his fingers over the carpet, searching for the offending object.

Yuuri’s fingers hit the edge of something small and sharp.  Hissing, he dug it out of the carpet and examined it, frowning as he did so.  A translucent plastic brick, about the size of a thumbtack, rested in the palm of his hand.

He’d stepped on a lego.  Again.

He should have known this was going to happen.  Zahra had been building yet another one of her intricate robot spaceships in the hall that afternoon.  He’d told her to make sure she put them all up when she was done, but clearly she’d missed one.

With a sigh, Yuuri headed towards his daughter’s bedroom.  They needed to have another talk about the importance of putting up her toys.

He could hear Viktor’s voice coming from Zahra’s room as he read to her before bed.  Normally, he loved to listen to his husband read to their daughter, but right now, he had to be tough and he wasn’t going to let anything soften his resolve.  He leaned in the doorway, arms crossed across his chest, the lego hidden in his closed hand.

Zahra sat in her bed, propped up against her pillows, holding her floppy stuffed poodle in her arms.  Her long brunette hair was combed back and still wet from her recent bath, the delicate scent of her lavender and vanilla soap filling the room.  Viktor paused as he turned the page of the book he was reading, the light of the bedside lamp reflecting off his new reading glasses.  Yuuri took the opportunity to clear his throat and they both looked over at him.  Viktor gave him a guarded look as he took in Yuuri’s stance, but Zahra hadn’t caught on.  Her radiant smile was sweet and pure.

“Tou-san!” she cried, dropping her stuffed toy and holding out her arms to him. 

Yuuri walked into her room and sat down on the edge of her bed.  He knew from long experience that she was about to crawl out from underneath the covers and climb into his lap.  But now wasn’t the time for cuddles.  Slowly, he opened up his hand, showing them both the lego resting there.

Viktor sighed and looked at Zahra, who seemed to have shrunk down into herself.  She looked up at him with big, sorrowful eyes. 

“I’m sorry,” she murmured.  Occasionally, he let her get by with apologizing right away, but this wasn’t one of those times.

“What have I said about putting up your legos?” Yuuri said quietly. 

“That I have to clean them up every night or you’ll take them away for a week,” she said, her voice as quiet as Yuuri’s.  She knew she was in trouble. 

In the bedside chair, Viktor closed the book and put it on her nightstand.  Sometimes, it took both of them to explain something to Zahra, and Viktor was clearly ready to do his part.  Yuuri appreciated the silent show of support from his husband.

“And why will I take them away?”

“Because…” she trailed off, her hands knotted on top of the covers.

“Because why?” Yuuri gently prodded.

“Because,” Zahra said, “Sochi might find one.”

“And what might Sochi do if she finds one?”

“She might eat it.”  She sounded so sad and meek that it made his heart ache, but he had to go on to the end. 

“And what could happen if she eats it?”

“She could… she could get sick an’ have t’ go t’ the vet.  Or… she could die.” She whispered the last part, her hazel eyes shining with unshed tears.

Viktor leaned forward in the chair and rested his hand on Zahra’s leg.  “We have to take good care of Sochi.  She relies on us to keep her safe and-”

“Tou-san!” Zahra cried, tossing back the covers and throwing her small body into Yuuri’s arms.  She always pleaded with whichever one of them was disciplining her.  “I don’t want Sochi to get sick or to die!  Ever!  I’m sorry I left it out!”

She buried her face, wet with tears, against his neck as she sobbed.  Yuuri wrapped his arms around her and gently held her, letting her cry herself out.  Viktor got up from the chair and came to sit next to them on the bed, rubbing soothing circles on her back while she cried.  Yuuri looked over the top of Zahra’s head and saw that Viktor looked like he was about to cry, too.  Yuuri felt the same way.   It was hard on both of them when she was upset, but they both knew this was necessary.  She had to understand why leaving legos out was a bad thing so she would learn not to do it. 

Eventually, she quieted, but she didn’t let go of Yuuri.  He’d hold her all night if that was what she wanted.

“I’m sorry, Tou-san,” she whispered against his neck.

“I know you are, sweetheart.  We all have to do our best to keep Sochi safe, okay?”

“Okay,” Zahra said, scrubbing at the tears on her face with the back of her hand.  “I love Sochi.  And I love you and Papa, too.”

“And we love you, Zahra,” Viktor said, pulling them both into his arms.  Viktor kissed the top of Zahra’s head and then kissed the top of Yuuri’s head.  Zahra smiled at them, her eyes sparkling.

“I wanna do that,” she murmured, tugging at the front of Yuuri’s t-shirt.  He dropped his head and hummed in appreciation when she kissed his hair.

“Ooh, can I have one, too?” Viktor asked playfully.  Zahra laughed and did the same to him, giggling when he gave her an exaggerated sigh. 

“Now you kiss my head and Papa’s head, Tou-san!”  Yuuri did as he was told and was rewarded with Zahra’s laughter and Viktor’s soft smile.  God, how he loved his family.

“Are you ready for me to finish your story?” Viktor asked.  Zahra crawled out of Yuuri’s lap to stand in front of them both.

“I need to give you my legos first,” she said.  She grabbed both of their hands and pulled on them.  “Come help me, okay?”

“Absolutely,” Viktor said as they rose from the bed and crossed the room to Zahra’s toy shelf.  She pulled the plastic storage bin that held her legos down and handed it to Yuuri.  The half-disassembled remnants of the robot spaceship she’d build earlier in the day stared up at him, surrounded by parts of castles and random bricks. 

There were a few legos still on the shelf that hadn’t made it into the bin and Zahra put them in.  Fearing there might still be some stragglers, Yuuri suggested they keep looking, and together they hunted them down.  Viktor meticulously went through the shelves one by one.  Yuuri pawed through the carpet on his hands and knees, Zahra helping him.  After a few minutes, Viktor declared that there were no stray legos in her room any longer. 

After they tucked her back in, Viktor returned to the chair and picked the book back up off her nightstand.  Yuuri grabbed the plastic bin and was getting ready to take it to their room when Zahra said, “Tou-san, can you stay here with me while Papa reads me a story?”  He looked over at his daughter, her wide eyes shining with hope.  He had been intending to put the legos in the closet and take care of the towels and start the dishwasher downstairs, but how could he say no to her?

“Of course,” he said and put the legos back down on the floor.  “I would love to hear Papa read us a story.”

Viktor opened the book and began reading as Yuuri settled in beside Zahra, one arm around her little shoulders.  Sometimes being a parent was difficult, but as he listened to his husband read aloud to their daughter, he knew he wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! As always, comments & kudos are appreciated. You can find me on Tumblr at [paintingwithwords](http://paintingwithwords.tumblr.com). Come say hello. :-)
> 
> You can read more of my fics [here](http://archiveofourown.org/users/paint_with_words/works).


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